Author

Jennifer Shutt

Jennifer Shutt

Jennifer covers the nations capital as a senior reporter for States Newsroom. Her coverage areas include congressional policy, politics and legal challenges with a focus on health care, unemployment, housing and aid to families.

勛圖tv is part of , the nations largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

Judge temporarily blocks Trump administration freeze on broad swath of federal payments

By: - January 28, 2025

WASHINGTON A federal district judge ruled Tuesday the Trump administration must wait until at least next week before it can move forward with pausing federal spending on trillions in grants and loans, though she emphasized the short-term administrative stay might not continue after a Feb. 3 hearing. District Judge Loren L. AliKhans decision temporarily […]

Brooke Rollins, President Donald Trump's nominee to be agriculture secretary, speaks during her Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee confirmation hearing on Jan. 23, 2025, in 勛圖tv, D.C. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

Trump pick for USDA secretary says she has ‘a lot to learn’ about bird flu

By: - January 24, 2025

WASHINGTON President Donald Trumps pick to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture said during her confirmation hearing Thursday that she has a lot to learn about highly pathogenic avian influenza or bird flu, the virus thats wreaking havoc on the countrys poultry industry and dairy farms. The outbreak has affected more than 136 million […]

U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, a Minnesota Democrat, speaks during a press conference inside the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. Also pictured is Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., left, and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

First abortion-related bill pushed in GOP-led Congress blocked by Senate Democrats

By: - January 22, 2025

WASHINGTON U.S. Senate Democrats blocked legislation Wednesday that would have established penalties for health care professionals who dont provide medical care for infants born following an attempted abortion, arguing the bill would have kept parents from making decisions about care for newborns delivered early following a fatal fetal diagnosis. Republicans said the issue should […]

Donald Trump at his inauguration ceremony in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025 in 勛圖tv, D.C. Trump took office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Donald Trump is sworn in as president of the United States

By: and - January 20, 2025

WASHINGTON Donald Trump took the presidential oath of office for the second time Monday during an inauguration ceremony inside the U.S. Capitol rotunda. The swearing-in marked the culmination of a four-year journey for Trump, whom many Republicans distanced themselves from following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, but nonetheless supported during his third […]

Protesters gather to call for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment on Sept. 28, 2022, in 勛圖tv, D.C. Supporters showed up to support the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution following oral arguments in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals over an ERA-related lawsuit. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Biden declares Equal Rights Amendment is the law of the land, contradicting archivist

By: - January 17, 2025

WASHINGTON President Joe Biden released a statement Friday saying he believes the Equal Rights Amendment should be added as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution, despite a statement from the archivist of the United States that it cannot. Bidens three-paragraph announcement did not explain why he waited until the last few days of his […]

In this 2020 photo illustration, the TikTok app is displayed on an Apple iPhone. (Photo Illustration by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Trump to sign executive order Monday delaying TikTok ban

By: and - January 17, 2025

WASHINGTON President-elect Donald Trump said Sunday he will sign an executive order as soon as he takes office that would delay a law that banned the popular social media app TikTok unless its parent company sells it. Im asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark! Trump said on his TruthSocial account. I […]

President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Office of Management and Budget director, Russell Vought, appears during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on Jan. 15, 2025, in 勛圖tv, D.C. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Trump nominee for budget chief says president can withhold funding approved by Congress

By: - January 15, 2025

WASHINGTON President-elect Donald Trumps pick to run the Office of Management and Budget appeared on a glide path to confirmation following a Wednesday hearing, despite Democrats raising concerns over his policy beliefs and actions in the exact same job during the first administration. Russ Vought, who ran a conservative think tank for the last […]

A person uses a garden hose in an effort to save a neighboring home from catching fire during the Eaton Fire on Jan. 8, 2025, in Altadena, California.  (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

U.S. House speaker pitches conditions on disaster aid, upending long-standing practice

By: - January 14, 2025

WASHINGTON U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that Congress will likely provide billions in disaster aid to help California recover from devastating wildfires, but indicated he might set a new precedent by placing conditions on that emergency funding based on policy and political differences with the Democratic-led state and the city of Los […]

President-elect Donald Trump and wife Melania Trump arrive at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 8, 2025, ahead of Senate Majority Leader John Thune, center. Trump met with Senate Republicans Wednesday evening. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Trump huddles with U.S. Senate GOP but no agreement yet on big tax, immigration overhaul

By: and - January 8, 2025

WASHINGTON U.S. Senate Republicans and President-elect Donald Trump met behind closed doors Wednesday evening to plot how to enact sweeping changes to immigration, energy and tax policy, though they didnt appear to make significant progress. Republicans want to use the complicated budget reconciliation process to approve legislation without relying on Democrats for votes in […]

President Joe Biden gives a pen to Bette Marafino, president of the Connecticut Chapter of the Alliance for Retired Americans, after he signed the Social Security Fairness Act during an event in the East Room of the White House on Jan. 5, 2025, in 勛圖tv, D.C.  At left are Sen.  Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.  The legislation will expand Social Security benefits for millions of retired Americans, including firefighters, police officers and teachers. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

Biden signs bill expanding Social Security benefits for retired teachers, public employees

By: - January 6, 2025

WASHINGTON President Joe Biden has expanded Social Security benefits for more than 2 million Americans by signing broadly bipartisan legislation that Congress approved late last year. The ceremony on Sunday marked one of the last times Biden is expected to sign major legislation as president, since Congress is now controlled by Republicans and his […]

U.S. Senate pages carrying the Electoral College certificates in wooden ballot boxes walk through the Capitol rotunda on their way to the U.S. House chamber on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

Trumps election as president certified by Congress, four years after Capitol attack

By: , and - January 6, 2025

WASHINGTON Lawmakers certified President-elect Donald Trumps win Monday in a smooth process that four years ago was disrupted by a violent mob of Trump supporters bent on stopping Congress from formally declaring President Joe Bidens 2020 victory. Vice President Kamala Harris the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee defeated by Trump presided over the […]

U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., center, and Rep. Marjorie Tayler Greene, R-Ga., left, talk with fellow representatives as they arrive for the first day of the 119th Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 3, 2025 in 勛圖tv, D.C.  (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Louisianas Mike Johnson elected U.S. House speaker by GOP in cliff-hanger vote

By: , and - January 3, 2025

WASHINGTON U.S. House Republicans on Friday elected Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson as their speaker for the 119th Congress, following weeks of speculation about whether the GOP would begin another protracted, public dispute over leadership. The drama-filled vote ensured that Johnson, who was first elected speaker in October 2023, will hold the gavel as Republicans […]